Battle for Bhopal

The last time the Bhopal Lok Sabha election made news for its contestants was in 1991. The Congress had fielded former cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a scion of Bhopal’s erstwhile ruling family on his mother’s side. He was trumped by the BJP’s S.C. Verma. The BJP, in a pointer to how well entrenched its support base is, has held the seat for eight terms. This time again the battle for Bhopal has hit the national headlines. A high-intensity contest is brewing with the BJP pitting Malegaon blasts accused Pragya Singh Thakur against Congress’s former chief minister Digvijaya Singh.

On one side is a veteran politician with years of legislative experience but whose political standing has been undermined, first, by BJP leaders who dubbed him bantadhar (responsible for the ruined state of affairs in Madhya Pradesh) and anti-development and, later, the troll armies who attacked him as an enemy of the Hindus. Digvijaya tried to address the last accusation with a 3,300 km long Narmada yatra and found himself politically rejuvenated with the Congress winning the state after 15 yearsa task in which he was a prominent strategist.

On the other side is Pragya, the Bhind-born sadhvi’, who was an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts that killed six people. She has been a member of the Durga Vahini and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and recently claimed that she had climbed atop the Babri mosque to demolish it. Pragya was released on bail in April 2017, but continues to be an accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

BJP insiders suggest that the RSS, which has had a pronounced role in the selection of candidates this time, and BJP president Amit Shah were keen that Pragya be fielded against Digvijaya as a fitting response to the Congress fielding someone they see as an anti-Hindu’ leader. Not everyone agreed, though, because Digvijaya as a candidate cannot be taken lightly. After almost a month of deliberations and with top leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Uma Bharti refusing to contest from Bhopal, the BJP announced Pragya’s candidature. Party insiders say that fielding Pragya may alienate a section of its urban vote. All those who voted for the BJP earlier because of its development-related promises, are questioning its choice of candidate now. They will not vote for the BJP, says a BJP MLA.

Sadhvi Pragya prays for victory (Photo: PANKAJ TIWARI)

Pragya lacks organisational experience, has little connect with workers and leaders in the city, and is heavily dependent on the Sangh to mobilise voters for her. Within a week of her candidature, in a bid to polarise the electorate, she attacked Ashok Chakra awardee, the late IPS officer Hemant Karkare, who, she said, was killed because she had cursed him. Karkare was the head of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad that investigated the blasts. Her statement caused a furore, putting the BJP, which is using nationalism as an electoral plank and invoking national security, on the back foot.

The Babri Masjid claim came a day later. The BJP went into a damage control mode, and Chouhan had a chat with her, explaining the intricacies of contesting a Lok Sabha election. Further, her team is yet to come out with a document stating what they intend to do for the development of Bhopal. Clearly, that is not a priority.

There is, however, a section of the party leadership that believes Pragya will polarise the Hindu vote in rural areas in the BJP’s favour. The rural vote in the Sehore, Berasia and Huzur assembly segments under the Bhopal LS seat is about 30 per cent of the 2.1 million electorate. Modiji has given the message that saffron needs to be respected. This is not an election but a dharmayuddha, she said on April 20. Pragya’s strategy is clearly to polarise voters.

Digvijaya has returned to the electoral arena after a gap of 19 years. He has, so far, refused to comment on Pragya’s Karkare and Babri Masjid remarks. Instead, he has released a vision document for Bhopal’s development. Most of his tours begin with temple visits. For the record, however, he says, My religion is my belief. I’ve never advertised my religious acts, be it the Narmada and Govardhan parikramas or Pandharpur visits. The Hindutva of the Sangh does not unite, it divides.

Digvijaya also has an excellent rapport with local BJP MLAs Krishna Gaur, Vishwas Sarang and Sudesh Rai; none of them was taken on board in the decision to field Pragya from Bhopal. Bhopal has about 450,000 Muslim voters and 175,000 Scheduled Caste votes, the bulk of which the Congress candidate expects will come to him.

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